Ukraine Drone Attack Kills 13 in Russia

PHOTO CAPTION: Smoke rises from an oil refinery after what authorities said was a Ukrainian drone attack, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan Region, Russia, August 10, 2026, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS

MOSCOW, Aug. 10 — At least 13 people, including a child, were killed and 39 injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on industrial and civilian targets in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk, authorities said Monday, marking one of the heaviest reported civilian tolls in Russia in months.

Ukraine’s military said it had struck Tatneft’s TANECO oil refinery in the Tatarstan region, about 800 km, or 497 miles, east of Moscow, and that a fire was recorded at the facility. Russian investigators separately said Ukraine had struck residential areas and opened a criminal case that they classified as a terrorist attack, saying a child was among the civilians killed.

Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Russia’s Tatarstan region, declared a period of mourning, Nizhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyayev said in a statement on Telegram. Reuters-verified social media videos showed smoke rising above the oil refinery.

The TANECO refinery, which was also struck by Ukraine in early June, processed 17 million tons of crude oil in 2024, producing 2.7 million tons of gasoline and 8.5 million tons of diesel fuel.

Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian oil refineries in recent months as part of a campaign that has contributed to fuel shortages in several parts of Russia. Russian authorities have said most of the initial supply problems have since been resolved, while Moscow has also imported fuel from abroad to bolster supplies.

Ukraine says it wants to bring the cost of Russia’s war home to ordinary Russians.

The Nizhnekamsk attack followed another day of deadly strikes on both sides. Three people were killed and 37 wounded Sunday in a Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where a multi-story apartment building was hit, while authorities in Russia’s Belgorod region said five people were killed and 25 wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack.

Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly said they do not target civilians.

(Source: Reuters)